You made it. Welcome to Lancaster University Your guide to postgraduate life 2017–2018 2 3 Congratulations. You are now a member of the academic community at Lancaster - one of the top 10 universities in the UK with a global reputation for excellence. We look forward to your arrival. What happens next? 1. Go to the centre pages for a simple timeline explaining what to expect over the coming weeks. 2. For detailed guidance on all these steps, including your Welcome Week schedule, head to the Welcome site at lancaster.ac.uk/ welcome. It contains everything you’ll need. 3. Browse this guide to get a flavour of postgraduate life and helpful tips on making the most of your university experience once you arrive. Find out about... Study Pg.4 Play Pg.12 Work Pg.16 Support Pg.18 We hope you find this guide useful. See you soon. 4 5 Welcome to our academic community Study. Lancaster is a unique environment for postgraduate study. Learn how to make the most of the features that make us different. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY IN THE UK AS RATED BY The best in research Talent and career #1 STUDENTS and teaching development Lancaster is one of just seven UK universities to Our commitment to Doctoral Training Centres ACADEMIC achieve both a Gold Award for teaching excellence represents a new approach to postgraduate study, 1,500+ and a Research Excellence Framework score while world-leading academics offer academic STAFF greater than 3.1. Our world-leading teaching and leadership and guidance. All postgraduates can research go hand-in-hand, offering benefits to also access lifetime support from our expert both taught and research postgraduate students. careers service. OF RESEARCH IS INTERNATIONALLY Find out more about support and opportunities Find out more about career guidance EXCELLENT AND available to you on page 6. on pages 24–25. 83% WORLD LEADING AVAILABLE 300,000+ eBOOKS Facilities tailored to you Our collegiate system COMPUTERS We recognise that postgraduates have unique Lancaster is one of a small number of leading AVAILABLE study needs. That’s why we created postgraduate- UK universities to operate a college structure. All 1,100+ FOR USE ON specific areas in the Library, the city centre and our postgraduate students are members of Grad CAMPUS within the postgraduate accommodation. In total, College - a community developed to cater for your we have invested more than £500m in our campus needs and encourage collaboration with buildings and facilities since 2003. your peers. Find out more about study spaces on page 9. Find out more about your college and what it offers on pages 10-11. 6 7 Develop your studies Research excellence Make the most of personal guidance from world-leading You are a member of an academic community academics and regular opportunities to share knowledge. where 83% of research is internationally excellent or world-leading. Here are a few of our latest academic Department and faculty Share knowledge projects to hit the headlines. guidance World-leading figures from academia and industry contribute to a busy lecture schedule at Lancaster. Lancaster University consists of four faculties and Our postgraduates have the opportunity not only to 28 departments. They all offer personal support attend, but to take part by sharing their own work. and guidance from academics who help make Lancaster one of the world’s elite universities. Your Postgraduate research conference department will advise you on the system they have developed for your programme. Taught and research postgraduates are invited to attend the annual Postgraduate Research Learning development Conference – an opportunity for the community to share ideas, make connections and develop presentation techniques. The Library’s academic services team offers subject-specific guidance on making the most New Café of resources at the University’s Library – rated number one in the UK by students. Researchers at Lancaster also have a monthly opportunity to share their work at the New Café. The Library also offers research advice and training In an informal setting, students learn how to pitch Fighting food Alzheimer’s Time transformed aimed specifically at postgraduate students. It their research to different audiences and receive shortages breakthrough covers key areas such as copyright, disseminating feedback from other researchers from different Professor Panos Athanasopoulos research and measuring impact. disciplines. Researchers led by Lancaster’s A Lancaster team has helped helped discover that language Professor Stephen Long develop a treatment that has such a powerful effect, it can discovered a way to boost could block the development influence the way we experience food crops by increasing of Alzheimer’s disease using time and estimate its passage. lancaster.ac.uk/learning-skills levels of proteins involved in microscopic droplets of fat. photosynthesis. lancaster.ac.uk LancasterUniversity @LancasterUni Comic art A galaxy long, long ago Renowned graphic novelist Lancaster-led astronomers and critic Benoît Peeters was looked 11 billion years into the appointed as the UK’s first past to discover giant halos professor of graphic fiction and around early Milky-Way galaxies. comic art. 8 9 Insider advice Your study spaces Postgraduate students from across the University As a postgraduate you have a range of spaces to share their tips for making the most of your choose from including dedicated postgraduate study programme at Lancaster. areas in the Library, city centre and Grad College. Choose the right study space for your needs Yanisa Thanomrod Niklas Reich Diplomacy and Foreign Biomedicine Policy “Be proactive. There is lots of “If you want academic support, support from the Careers team make an appointment to and plenty of opportunities to see your faculty’s Learning pursue your academic interests Developer. I wanted to be sure and make progress in your career. my style of writing would be right But you need to decide what for Lancaster and the UK, so I interests you and take advantage asked and they gave me really of what’s available.” useful advice.” Library The Storey Grad College Dedicated postgraduate study Postgraduate-only study space Postgraduate study space area, individual study spaces in city arts centre. that neighbours campus and bookable group work Group and individual accommodation. areas. Mike Ryder Priya Maria Thomas study spaces. Open 24/7 during term time. Individual and group English Social Psychology Presentation facilities and Wi-Fi. study spaces. “My advice is to take full “I would definitely encourage all advantage of all the things that postgraduates to get involved Insider advice are on offer, from day trips and in Grad College social activities. public lectures, to classical It gives you a chance to meet concerts in the Great Hall. people outside your department Access eBooks and digital resources Not only will you broaden your and bridges the gap between horizons, but you’ll also get to disciplines.” A huge range of library content is available to access from your meet some great new people phone, tablet or laptop. from all over the world.” Sign up for skill sessions Check out a wide range of free training and support on the Learning and Skills Development website at lancaster.ac.uk/ learning-skills Alex Thompson Monica Giraldi Ask your department Psychology of Arts Management Office space may be available for research students. Advertising Use PC Labs “If you have a group project, the A range of PC Labs are available on campus. Most are “It’s important to get a balance social hub in Grad College is a between work and having great option. You don’t feel like accessible 24/7 using your University Card. time to relax. Your tutors or you are disturbing anyone. Being supervisors can help you in the college also makes you feel anticipate your workload and a part of a community rather than Want to know more? plan your time.” being on your own.” lancaster.ac.uk/library Attend an Introduction to IT and the Library talk on Tuesday of Welcome Week. LancasterUniversity Visit lancaster.ac.uk/welcome-week for more details. Library @LancasterUniLib 10 11 Grad College Every postgraduate at Lancaster can rely on the support of Grad College - a close-knit community that offers events and opportunities sure to enhance your university experience. Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. We have nine colleges in total; eight for undergraduates and one exclusively for postgraduates. Take a look at how Grad College can support you. lancaster.ac.uk/colleges/graduate Facilities Supporting your studies Grad College has been designed Not only will Grad College help you focus specifically to meet the needs on your academic work by providing of postgraduate students. Its dedicated study space. It will also accommodation is located in a quiet encourage you to develop and share it area of campus, with its own dedicated through academic events. study and social hub. This recently refurbished space is ideal for group New Café is a monthly college event and quiet study as well as taking a where students can share their break to play pool, darts or table tennis. research and receive input from The Grad College Bar, the Herdwick, is other postgraduates from a range of nearby and is known for its traditional disciplines, and each year the college pub atmosphere and range of local also hosts Lancaster’s Postgraduate beers. A Grad College PC Lab is also Research Conference (see page 6). available 24 hours a day, and students Some travel support is also available have the option to use a city centre to fund trips to external conferences. study space (see page 9). All facilities are available for those who live on or off campus.